By Ayo Kingibe
Former Minister of Power and governorship aspirant of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adebayo Adelabu, has rejected the outcome of the party’s governorship primary election in Oyo State, alleging widespread irregularities as Senator Sharafadeen Alli reportedly win with a landslide.
Adelabu, who spoke in Ibadan on Friday, described the conduct of the primary election across the state as deeply flawed and lacking transparency, insisting that the exercise was neither free, fair, nor credible.
He alleged that the process was marred by gross misconduct, including infractions in several wards and the commencement of voting hours ahead of the officially approved time.
The former minister expressed dissatisfaction with the conduct of the exercise in different parts of the state, maintaining that reports reaching his camp indicated that electoral officials failed to adhere strictly to the party’s guidelines during the primary.
According to him, the alleged irregularities undermined the integrity of the exercise and cast doubt on the credibility of the results. Adelabu further vowed to submit formal petitions to the national leadership of the APC over what he described as widespread violations across the five geopolitical zones of Oyo State.
He stated that the complaints were not limited to Ibadan alone, stressing that the party leadership must investigate the conduct of the exercise in order to protect internal democracy and maintain the confidence of party members ahead of the 2027 governorship election.
Despite rejecting the process, Adelabu secured a commanding victory at Ward 9 in Ibadan South-East Local Government Area, where he polled 430 votes to defeat Senator Alli, who garnered three votes in the ward.
However, as collation continued across the state at the time of filing this report, Senator Alli was said to be maintaining a strong lead in the overall tally, setting the stage for a keenly contested finish to the APC governorship primary in Oyo State.
